


Childhood Friends

by Self_Insert_Nonsense



Category: Lupin III
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Mystery, Other, Polyamory, Weird Cult Shit, will tag other stuff as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27122459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Self_Insert_Nonsense/pseuds/Self_Insert_Nonsense
Summary: A strange cult, a missing woman, and working with the enemy were not things on Inspector Zenigata’s to do list. Neither was meeting up with an old friend and finding out you both still might have feelings for each other.
Relationships: Ishikawa Goemon XIII/Jigen Daisuke/Arsène Lupin III/Mine Fujiko, Zenigata Kouichi/Original Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Ichika sighed as she put her binoculars down. This stupid museum was covered in security. If her friend was right and the statue he had gotten taken from him was in there, he owed her big time.

She jumped down from her hiding spot, making sure no one could see her, and ran inside. The doors were the only place not guarded, thanks to the heavier security in the actual museum.

To her surprise, however, the security system seemed to be turned off. Cautiously she entered the main hall, searching until she found what she was looking for - a crudely shaped statue clearly made of brass. She grabbed it and tucked it away into her bag.

“You know, stealing is a crime and usually people go to jail for that,” a voice behind her said. She jumped, turning to look at the source.

It was a man, wearing a brightly colored jacket, and a large grin on his face, “But maybe someone as beautiful as yourself could get away with the crime.”

“Look if you’re a cop I don’t want any trouble. This was stolen from a friend of mine first and I’m just taking it back,” she raised her hands in defense. He just laughed.

“Oh I’m not a cop. Far from it really. But that isn’t important right now. I wanna know what’s so special about that statue that you’d steal it for someone.”

“Their kid made it. It was just a brass statue they made in some class, and wanted to give it to their dad as a present.”

“So... how did it end up here?”

“How the hell would I know? But I remember them getting this as a gift and I’m taking it back for them.”

She noticed he was holding it and frowned, looking at her bag, “Hey how did you-!”

There were sirens, and both people looked at each other and frowned, “You called the cops!” They shouted at one another.

“If you didn’t who did?” Ichika asked. The man shrugged and they both started running. Ichika didn’t even realize she still didn’t have the statue until she was being pushed into a police car.

“Wait-!” She shouted as they drove off, seeing the man standing there looking confused.

—

“Why can’t you guys understand I don’t know! I told you I saw this Lupin guy but I’ve never met him before in my life!” Ichika sunk her head onto the table, the handcuffs restraining her from doing much else.

Suddenly she remembered something, “Wait... Wait ok listen I don’t know Lupin, but I know Inspector Zenigata. I heard about him being the one chasing Lupin around please. Tell him Ichika is here, he’ll know who that is. We went to school together.”

The officers murmured to each other before one left the room. She chewed on her lip, hoping they would do what she said.

She heard fast footsteps and soon the door was slammed open, the frazzled inspector himself standing there with confusion in his eyes.

“ICHIKA?! What the hell are you doing here?!”

“Hey long time no see-!” He pulled the handcuffs off her and wrapped her in a hug, a goofy grin on his face, “Always glad to see one of my old friends! But uh... what were you doing at that museum?” His tone grew slightly serious.

“I got stuck in the bathroom and when I got free it was dark,” she lied easily, “Then I ran into Lupin and got myself arrested.”

“You heard her, men. She’s innocent. Nothing to see here!”

The cops, visibly confused, nodded and let her go. Zenigata walked her out of the police station, “Ah... are you staying nearby?”

“Oh no.. I bought an apartment a few miles from here...”

“I’ll drive you home.”

“Oh you don’t have to-.”

“Nonsense! Come on,” he grinned, “We have to catch up. I haven’t seen you in a long time.”  
Ichika smiled softly at her old friend, “Alright... it has been a while.”

—

After a long, talk-filled drive, Zenigata bid her goodnight and told her to call him anytime she wanted to.

She watched him drive off, her heart fluttering a little.  
He hadn’t changed much. A little older, but he was still the man she knew back when they were in school.

She walked into her apartment, sighing when she remembered she would have to call her friend to break the news that she failed. Hearing a clanking sound, she looked at the floor and saw the statue, along with a note.

“Hello beautiful! Sorry I grabbed this and didn’t get it back. I’m also sorry you got arrested but hey, it got me and my gang out of trouble! Hopefully you can cozy up to Pops, he likes cute girls, and then you’ll be able to give this to your friend! Hope we can meet again sometime!  
“Lupin the Third.”

She folded the note and put it in her back pocket, sighing in relief as she held the small statue. She walked over and picked up the phone to call her friend and tell him the news.


	2. Chapter 2

Ichika had no idea how she found herself in this situation. She had been minding her own business when a yellow car drove by followed by several police cars.

As one of the cars passed, she saw Zenigata with his head out, yelling into a megaphone.

Without much thought, Ichika grabbed a bike and took off after them, hoping to catch up to see what was happening. She stayed pretty close behind, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the car ahead.

It was Lupin, along with two other men she didn’t recognize. She tried to keep out of sight in case Zenigata saw her, but made an effort to stay as close as she could.

“LUPIN YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!!!” Zenigata’s voice was loud and brash, very different from the calmer tone she was used to. She almost lost control of her bike as she stared in surprise.

She ended up running right into the police car, letting out a loud, “Oof!”

Zenigata stopped and turned, looking down and seeing her, “Ah! Ichika what the hell-!”

He clambered out of the car, Lupin completely forgotten as he ran over to her.

“What are you doing out here?”

“I was uh... I was biking and got kind of caught up in your little chase. Sorry...,” she muttered.

He sighed in relief, “I’m glad you’re alright. Now excuse me, I have to-,” he turned and noticed Lupin was gone, “Ah... never mind...”

Ichika felt a little bad, but part of her found it thrilling to see this kind of thing happening. The other officers were muttering to one another while looking between Zenigata and Ichika, as if trying to figure out what was happening.

Ichika glanced at the bike, realizing she didn’t own one, “Ah this was a rental I need to go put it back... I’ll see you later Koichi!”

He waved at her as she left, turning and glaring at the other officers when he heard them snickering, “What’s so funny?”

—

After returning the bike and apologizing to the owner for taking it, Ichika made her way to her apartment. As she opened the door, she almost screamed seeing Lupin casually lying on her couch.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” She asked. He grinned, sitting up, “I had to see you again. You’ve been on my mind for days!”

“Sorry, I’m not interested.”

“No wait! I want you to join my gang!”

“... What now?”

Lupin jumped off the couch and walked toward her, his grin back, “I want you to join my gang. Do you know what you did today?”

“Uh... stole a bike?”

“Well yes but I’m talking about you distracting Pops! You were just there and it was like the entire world around him vanished! It’s like he has a crush on your or something.”

She blushed, “We’re old friends. Went to school together.”

His eyes widened, “You don’t look that old though.”

She glared and smacked him on the head, “Don’t be rude! We’re not that old!”

He laughed and rubbed the back of his head, “You’re pretty strong too! This is great!”

She sighed, “The last thing I wanna do is team up with the enemy of my friend. So I’m gonna decline your offer.”

His grin turned mischievous, “Think of it like this... if you play distraction, he’ll be stuck spending more time with you. You’d want that, right?”

She frowned, angry that he was right, she did want that.

“Ok how about this,” he said, “You help us when we’re helping others. We don’t do it often, but we do it sometimes.”

“That’s... honestly more up my alley. I’m pretty good at stealing, but I only do it when someone needs an item or several items returned.”

“Ah, a kind of Robin Hood.”

“Sure.”

“Well, you could definitely help us with any heists like that. Of course, you’ll have to pass a test and take something without me noticing.”

She smiled and held up something, “Like this?”

“... Is that my wallet?”

She threw it back to him. He grinned, “Hot damn that was impressive I don’t even think I saw you move!”

“You turned away for a second and I was close enough to pull it out of your pocket.”

He grinned and held his hand out, “What do you say? Wanna join up now?”

She looked hesitantly at his hand, then grinned, “Fine,” she reached forward and shook his hand.

—

Zenigata felt like something was off. He couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but he could feel it.

He trudged to Ichika’s, wanting to check in on her and see how she was doing. He was pretty sure she probably bruised something after running into the car earlier and he wanted to make sure nothing was broken.

Knocking politely, he heard a crash and a startled yelp.

“Ichika?” He asked, worried. She cleared her throat and opened the door, “Hi Koichi. What are you doing here?”

“Oh I uh... wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She smiled warmly at him, and he felt his heart speed up. She was just so pretty, she always was.

“Yeah I’m fine! Um... do you wanna come in? It’s looking like it’s gonna rain.”

She let him in and took his coat, “Don’t need that in here. I like the hat though. You can keep that on.”

He sat on the couch, Ichika coming and sitting beside him, “So... Inspector? How did that happen?”

“Ah, a lot of work,” he laughed. She smiled and leaned on the couch, “I always knew you’d make it if I’m honest. You always were really determined when it came to this stuff.”

His grin softened, “What about you? Did you ever figure out what you wanted to do with your life? Oh! Did you go to America like you wanted?”

“In that order, no and yes. I’ve been all over the world at this point I think. But I don’t... really know what I’m doing. I’m doing ah, odd jobs, and that helps me get by.”

“Do you still have that skill I disapproved of?” He asked, Ichika noticed the teasing tone of his voice and sat up.

“As a matter of fact I do. Why?”

He looked embarrassed, “My... The commissioner heard me talking about you and wanted to talk with you about something.”

Her eyes widened, “Wh... What does he want to talk about?”

He frowned, “He didn’t tell me. He just said to get ahold of you and tell you to come in.”

Ichika folded her arms. Surely her record wouldn’t be coming into question. She’d been careful to not get caught except for the night she reunited with Zenigata. Unless someone had ratted her out.

“I don’t think it’s anything to be nervous about. He seemed almost excited?” Zenigata scratched his head, trying to make sense of it.

“I guess I can um...,” she trailed off when she saw Lupin in the window. Her eyes darted to Zenigata as she tried to ignore Lupin acting ridiculous in the background, “I can go up there sometime?”

“Great!” Zenigata didn’t seem to realize the display behind him. He started to stand when Ichika hastily grabbed his arms.

“Um, wait I... I haven’t seen you in a while and we still have a lot to catch up on!” She realized how awkward she’d made the situation and released his arms, her face burning.

His face was red too, and he looked embarrassed, “Ichika I... uh...”

Ichika stood, “Let me go get something to drink! We can talk about stuff for a few hours!” She walked over and quickly shut the curtain before Zenigata could turn around, “I’ll be right back!”


	3. Chapter 3

Ichika chewed on her bottom lip as she walked up the stairs to ICPO headquarters.

She stepped into the building, looking around and following signs until she found the commissioner’s office.

She knocked once and opened the door, “Hello? Um... My name is Ichika Okada. You... wanted to talk to me?”

The commissioner smiled and gestured to the seat in front of him, “Ms. Okada! Please come sit down.”

Cautiously, she entered the room and sat down. She fiddled with a loose string on her clothes, “How do you know me?”

“Inspector Zenigata never stops talking about you. Plus...,” he pulled a file out with her name on it. Ichika felt her body grow cold. She was about to get arrested, she could feel it.

“Now Ms. Okada I’ve not asked you here to arrest you. Quite the contrary. We could use your attention to detail to help us with a case.”

“You what?”

“You heard correctly. Several weeks ago, a necklace was stolen from a museum in Paris. This necklace once belonged to the head of a very dangerous cult. We fear some members are still active and are trying to find a new leader. We have several clues but they lead nowhere. We, I, am hoping a fresh pair of eyes such as yours can help us.”

She sat back in the chair, confusion washing over her, “You want me to help..?”

“If you do this for us, I will wipe every crime off your record.”

She decided it would be a good deal.

—

When she got home, Lupin was there, looking relieved, “Gee thought you were turning yourself in. What was that about?”

“I thought I got rid of the trackers you placed on me.”

“Well that explains why I couldn’t hear anything,” he flopped on the couch, and Ichika became aware of two other men standing nearby.

“The commissioner asked Zenigata to have me talk with him. Apparently he wants me to help find a missing necklace.”

Lupin sat up, “Missing necklace?”

She nodded, “Yeah some necklace from France that’s apparently tied to-.”

“The Cult of Immortalité,” one of the men said, his eyes hidden behind a large hat.

“One of our own went to find the necklace herself and we’ve been trying to find her,” Lupin explained, “She likes stuff like that and wanted to do it on her own. We haven’t seen her in weeks and we’ve been trying to find her.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m looking for it,” she said, “So it’s called the cult of immortalité? Cult of immortality...”

“They believed beauty could be immortalized, and the original leader, a woman named Annamarie Bellon, was considered the most beautiful woman in France. She had a special necklace given to her by a man who wanted to marry her, but after accepting the necklace she had rejected him, stating that no one would ever match her in looks. People began to worship her and finally she had her own cult set up while she tried to find a way to preserve her looks forever,” Lupin explained.

“They say the necklace was cursed by her when she died, still pretty young. Whoever wears the necklace would be possessed by Annamarie’s spirit, and she would transform them into a new leader, trying to find a way to stop aging and stay young and beautiful forever,” the man in the hat finished, “I don’t think that shit is real but Fujiko doesn’t disappear for this long without leaving some kind of message. Something’s up and we’ve been trying to dig around to figure it out.”

Ichika frowned. So maybe the commissioner had been right and there were people from the cult still around, and perhaps Fujiko had gotten herself tangled up in the whole ordeal.

“Help us, then,” Ichika said, “Help me and Zenigata and the others find out what’s going on. Give me info you find and I can give it to them. That way everyone can get something out of this.”

Lupin nodded. He looked to his friends, “Jigen, Goemon?”

Goemon nodded solemnly, he hadn’t said a single word the entire time. Jigen didn’t look too happy, but he agreed nonetheless.

“Great. Tell me anything you can think of,” Ichika said.

—

“Where did you say you got this information again?” Zenigata asked. Ichika shook her head, now wasn’t the time for that.

The plane to France was quiet, occasionally a baby would fuss and a mother would shush them. A cat meowed loudly at one point. Ichika was reading and Zenigata was thinking.

He jumped when he felt her hand brush his. She had fallen asleep, clearly tired from being up so late the night before. His heart skipped as he thought about holding her hand.

Instead he just gently maneuvered her arm so it was on her lap, and he placed a mark in her book to keep her place. Then he sat back and sighed.

She was as reckless as ever. She thought she was being smart by not telling him that Lupin had talked to her. She couldn’t have gotten such important information any other way.

Lupin... what the hell did he have to do with all of this? Ichika had let slip that someone might have been kidnapped by members of the cult.

Zenigata sat up in his chair as he realized he hadn’t seen Fujiko with Lupin lately. How the hell had he missed that? She was usually hanging around him and the others.

Ichika stirred a little in her seat, but didn’t wake up. He sat still and watched her for a moment. He needed to talk to her when they landed. It was important to put everything out in the open.


	4. Chapter 4

“So now you know everything,” Ichika said, her voice slightly regretful, “I wasn’t supposed to tell you but Lupin had a feeling there might be an issue of you figuring things out.”

He frowned, “Regardless, the info is helpful and... sometimes Lupin and I are on the same page. If Fujiko was kidnapped like you both think... we’ll make sure she’s safe.”

She placed a hand on his arm, “I appreciate that, Koichi. I haven’t even met her but I can tell Lupin and the others care about her.”

He nodded, “When this is over I don’t want you working with him, ok? But until then... if he... needs you I won’t stop you...,” he looked like it pained him to say that.

Ichika smiled softly and hugged her friend, “Thanks Koichi.”

—

Zenigata couldn’t figure out why he didn’t want Lupin contacting Ichika. He assumed part of it was because Lupin was a criminal and he didn’t want his best friend from school doing criminal activities. But something else was bothering him.

He thought about how close he and Ichika had gotten to having a relationship that was more on the romantic side. Smiling at how blind the two of them had been back then. Clearly head over heels for each other, but never able to express it save for one time.

“Why Pops you look like a love struck teenager!” Lupin’s voice brought him back to the present and he pulled his handcuffs out instinctively.

“Now now,” Lupin said, “We’re on a truce remember?”

“Huh? Oh.. right,” Zenigata put his handcuffs away, “What the hell are you doing here anyway?”

“I was looking for Ichika.”

Zenigata darted his eyes to a closed door to a room, where Ichika was currently sleeping off her jet lag.

“She’s asleep.”

Lupin sighed dramatically, “Of course,” he sat himself down on the couch, “Tell me Pops, what’s her story? I never heard of her before.”

“I don’t talk about my past much,” Zenigata replied, feeling slightly uneasy.

“She seems to adore you! How could you not talk about her?!”

Zenigata blushed, his hat covering his eyes as he mumbled, “Adore is a strong word...”

Lupin sat up, grinning suddenly, “You like her, don’t you?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t need to, Lupin could tell by how red Zenigata’s face was that he was correct.

“It’s complicated,” Zenigata’s voice was small and unsure of his own words.

“Did you guys ever date?” Lupin asked. He chuckled at Zenigata’s reaction, the inspector practically jumped out of his skin.

“I... we... not really. We almost did, but decided it wasn’t the right time...,” Lupin noticed the almost forlorn sound in Zenigata’s voice, as he continued, “We were young and stupid, you know? I wanted to pursue my career, she wanted to see the world...”

“You’re in love with her,” it wasn’t a question.

Was he? Zenigata wasn’t sure, but the old feelings he had for Ichika were still quite alive and well, “I don’t know.”

Lupin smiled, a genuine one instead of the usual mischievous grin, “I think you guys are cute together.”

“Sh-shut it! She might hear you,” Zenigata’s face was on fire again.

“Tell me how you guys ended up almost dating.”

“I’ve talked too much about this, I-...,” he noticed Lupin looked really eager to hear the story. Sighing, Zenigata sat down and scratched his head.

“You have to understand, we’ve been friends since we were twelve... we were really close for several years and things kinda just fell into place?” Zenigata struggled to find the words he wanted to say.

“Go on.”

“We... We had been talking and Ichika wanted to go ‘find herself’ after we finished school. She knew I wanted to go train to become an officer, and the last night we were together before we left town for years we um...,” Zenigata blushed at the memory, “She got all emotional and kissed me.”

Lupin grinned, “You know she probably wouldn’t mind if you did that now.”

“I’m not going to do that. She probably doesn’t feel that way anymore. We’ve both grown and changed and...”

“You still like her, though. So it’s entirely possible she feels the same... you want me to ask her?” Lupin’s grin turned mischievous.

“No,” Zenigata’s answer was firm, “If... if she does I want her to tell me on her own.”

“How romantic,” Lupin sighed, “Considering how she has a bit of a mischievous streak, I’m gonna assume that might be part of the reason you’re so obsessed with me.”

“Get out of here before I end the damn truce!” Zenigata yelled, his face burning, “That has nothing to do with my hunting you down!”

Lupin laughed and climbed through the window, “When Ichika wakes up, tell her I stopped by, would you?”


	5. Chapter 5

Zenigata wanted to ask her really bad if she still had feelings for him.

Lupin’s words had bugged him so badly that he’d hardly slept. Ichika took note of the exhausted look on his face.

“Do you wanna take it easy today?” She asked. He shook his head. He needed to focus on the task at hand, he didn’t have time for relaxing.

The two set out, hoping to scour out some clues while Lupin and his gang did their own, slightly less legal searching.

After a few hours of coming up empty, Ichika suggested they meet up with Lupin and the others to see if they found anything.

Zenigata agreed, if only so he wouldn’t be alone with her any longer. He hadn’t been at his 100% because he kept staring at her when she wasn’t looking.

They hadn’t had much luck either.

“Ahh...,” Lupin sighed, “We’re never gonna find Fujiko.”

“Don’t beat yourself up yet, Lupin,” Ichika assured him, “She’s gotta still be somewhere around here.”

“For all we know she finally hightailed it outta here and left this mystery as her own personal ‘fuck you’ to us,” Jigen muttered. Ichika could tell he seemed really bothered by this.

“But something just doesn’t feel right,” he finished.

“Usually Fujiko goes out of her way to tell us when she has betrayed us in some capacity,” Goemon explained when he took note of Ichika and Zenigata’s questioning looks, “She usually calls Lupin and leaves a message about it.”

Lupin looked... down. Ichika worried about him, sliding over next to him. Zenigata tried not to pay attention.

“You gonna be ok?” She asked Lupin.

“I just wanna know if she’s ok, you know? We all do,” Lupin mumbled, “I don’t like flying headfirst into the unexpected when someone I care about could be hurt.”

She placed a hand on his shoulder, “We’ll find her. I’m gonna make sure of it.”

Zenigata felt a slight pang of jealousy over how she was treating Lupin. He wasn’t sure why. Lupin hadn’t seemed interested in her.

But what if he was?

Zenigata stood suddenly, saying he needed to go think for a little bit, and told Ichika to hang out here till he got back.

Ichika frowned, watching him leave, before sighing, “Ok. Guess we’re gonna brainstorm while he’s doing his thing.”

Lupin was quiet, before finally saying, “Did you do that on purpose?”

Ichika looked confused, “What?”

“You made him jealous.”

Ichika looked at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. Lupin tilted his head in question, watching Ichika wipe tears from her eyes.

“Jealous? Zenigata??? Jealous of what?”

Lupin blinked, realizing something, “My god you have no idea how much that man adores you. Oh my god it’s like some kind of weird fairytale!”

Ichika froze, “Wh... what?”

“He was staring at you the whole time,” Jigen muttered, pulling out a cigarette, “Full on puppy love mode. Can’t believe you didn’t notice.”

“I... Well I mean... we almost dated in high school...,” Ichika mumbled. Jigen and Goemon jumped in surprise, but Lupin just grinned.

“I know you kissed him, too.”

“You what?!”

—

Zenigata rubbed his tired eyes. Why had he just up and left like that? He’d be hearing it from Ichika later for sure.

Why did he get jealous of Lupin? Was it because he was younger? Because he was clearly into the same things as Ichika? Probably. Zenigata knew he was the same age as Ichika but... age had been so good to her. She still looked like she could pass for 30!

Zenigata placed his hat over his eyes for a moment, wondering if he screamed into his hat, would anyone hear him?

Deciding that was a dumb idea, he put his hat back on his head. He thought about telling Ichika he wanted to try dating, which in and of itself surprised him. He always told himself he wouldn’t give himself a break till Lupin was put behind bars forever.

But did he want that?

While he was lamenting, something caught his eye, movement from below the balcony he stood on.

His eyes widened. It was Fujiko.

“Fujiko!” He called down. She glanced up at him and ran.

With surprising ease, Zenigata jumped down and ran after her, “Wait I’m not here to arrest you this time!”

She turned and he finally got a glimpse of her eyes. They had a strange milkiness to them, as if under some kind of spell.

She stopped, looking around before throwing something to the ground. She ran off as Zenigata reached the item.

It was a note with directions.

The words on the note read, “Help Me.”


	6. Chapter 6

“That’s definitely her handwriting,” Lupin said quietly. In the short time she’d known him, Ichika had never seen him so focused, “But where do the directions go...?”

“Do we have a map?” Ichika spoke up, looking around the room. Sure enough she found one in Zenigata’s bag. Opening it, she looked at the coordinates again.

“Looks like... Right here?” She pointed to an area that seemed empty, a small island off the coast.

“We need to go there,” Lupin said. Jigen sighed but didn’t say anything, putting his gun that he had been fiddling with away.

“Do you want us to go with you?” Ichika asked. Lupin turned to her and patted her on the shoulder.

“Might not be safe Ichika. You and Pops should probably stick around here.”

“Well that hardly seems fair,” she pouted. Lupin just shrugged, his eyes focused on Zenigata.

“Don’t let her sneak off,” Lupin told him. Ichika frowned, folding her arms.

She watched dejectedly as the three men prepared to leave.

“What happened to me being a part of your dumb gang?” She asked. Lupin sighed and turned to her.

“When we get through this, I’ll plan a big heist and you can be involved, ok?”

“Hardly seems fair,” she repeated.

He waved goodbye, Jigen and Goemon following silently behind him.

“Don’t go after them,” Zenigata said sternly, turning her around and making her look up at him, “It sounds like it’s dangerous.”

Ichika sighed, “That’s why I think we should go.”

—

Lupin’s burner phone was ringing. The only one who had that number was Ichika.

“Ichika?”

The next words he heard made him freeze.

“I can’t find her!”

—

Ichika felt like she was in some kind of walking dream. Before her stood a beautiful woman with auburn hair. She looked terrified.  
“Are you Fujiko?”

“Yes. You need to get out of here before they come after you.”  
“Who?”

“The cult that took me. You need to tell Lupin and the others it isn’t worth it and-.”

She disappeared before Ichika’s eyes, replaced by swirling colors as a voice whispered to her to follow them.

She felt her feet move, but couldn’t tell if she was walking. It felt as though someone was carrying her by her arms.

Suddenly she was awake, and was definitely being thrown into a car.

“Hey! Who the fu-!!!” She was gagged and had her hands tied behind her. She couldn’t tell who was driving the car, as cloaks covered their faces.

Terror filled her as she remembered her strange, walking dream, the auburn haired woman seeming terrified, and Ichika wondered if she would meet whatever fate Fujiko had been dealt.

One of the cloaked figures turned to look back at her, and she could make out a pair of pale eyes staring back. Dread filled her as she stared back at the lifeless eyes, her body feeling weightless and cold.

—

Ichika was gone, and Zenigata was having a meltdown.

He had managed to find Ichika’s phone and called Lupin on it frantically screaming about how she was gone.

Lupin was there quick, bursting into the room to see the inspector, distraught and sitting on the floor. On the couch beside him was the phone, still open.

“What happened?”

“I woke up and she was gone. No note, no anything,” Zenigata sounded broken, looking at the floor.

“Hey, Pops. Listen, we’re gonna get her. I think... either she went on her own-.”

“No. There’s evidence of a scuffle. She was kidnapped,” Zenigata’s voice was stern, sure, and very upset.

“Then we’ll find her. I think I know what happened.”

—

Ichika awoke in a dark room. She could barely see the room around her, and she could feel herself tied down to something.

“Are you awake?” A familiar yet unfamiliar voice asked in the dark.

“Where am I?”

“You don’t wanna know. This is my fault.”

Ichika sat there for a moment, wondering if she should say what she’s thinking.

“Who are you, anyway?” The voice asked.

“Ah... my names Ichika.”

“I’m Fujiko.”

“I had a feeling. Lupin is looking for you.”

“Lupin! But... does that mean...did he find my note??”

“Yeah.”

Fujiko’s voice fell silent for a moment, before she said, “How are you a part of this?”

“I kinda joined Lupin’s gang but I also kind of work with Zenigata because we’re old friends.”

“That sounds confusing. You must get away with a lot if that’s the case.”  
“Not really.”

The two women were silent again. Fujiko finally said, “They’re looking for someone. I don’t know everything about this cult, honestly I just wanted the necklace. But from the way things sound, they might be trying to find someone to take over as their leader.”

“Lupin said the necklace is cursed,” Ichika muttered, “Maybe that curse has something to do with it.”

The door opened, light pouring in and causing Ichika to squint.

Several robed individuals swarmed into the room, untying Ichika and pulling her away.

“Lupin’s on his way Fujiko!” Ichika called, “I promise! We’ll be ok!”


	7. Chapter 7

Ichika was scared. They were trying to force the necklace on her, chanting in a language she had never heard before.

“Please! Just let me go! I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but please!”

They ignored her cries, finally clasping the necklace around her neck. She felt something like a jolt of electricity flow through her, stunning her into silence, and the world fell dark.

——

They found the cult. Zenigata and Lupin rushed in first, Jigen and Goemon behind them.

The doors opened to a large, crowded room of people, with someone sitting at the very far wall, on a stage of some sort.

“Ichika?!”

The woman looked like her, but when her gaze turned to the group, Zenigata felt his body grow cold.

Her eyes weren’t right. They were the wrong color, a pale blue.

Several cultists grabbed the gang, holding them as Ichika, or who they thought was her, walked over to them.

“My, my,” she said, and Zenigata went cold again. That wasn’t her voice. Her voice was usually warm and inviting, this voice was cool and smooth, almost detached from reality.

“I see that she keeps some very attractive company,” ‘Ichika’ finished, her eyes staring directly at Zenigata, “How very interesting.”

“What the hell is going on here?” Lupin asked, “Where’s Fujiko? What happened to you?”

“Me? Oh my, you don’t seem to understand what’s happening here, do you?” She smiled.

“I understand completely, Annamarie Bellon,” Lupin grinned, but there was no humor behind it, “That necklace really is cursed and you possessed our friend.”

“Ah, you are a smart one, Lupin,” she laughed, “We tried with your little redhead friend, but she was far too stubborn. This one, however... pretty and kind of stupid.”

“Don’t call Ichika stupid you-!” Zenigata started to say, but was pushed back by some cultists, shutting him up.

“My goodness inspector,” Annamarie exclaimed, “You must care about this woman very much to be so riled up! Hmm...,” she walked over and placed a finger under his chin, tilting his head back, “Maybe I can use you for something.”

“Fat chance.”

“Oh I think you’ll come around,” she grinned darkly, “Take the others to the holding cell, but bring this one to my private quarters. We have much to discuss.”

Zenigata struggled, pulling away at the cultists until he was finally free, before turning to help Lupin and the others. He was almost able to, before he got overtaken by too many other cult members.

“Pops! Don’t worry about us!” Lupin said, “Focus on Ichika!”

Zenigata watched the others get dragged away, still fighting as best they could. He was dragged to a private room, fully designed like something out of a different era.

He waited, unable to leave, looking around for something, anything, to help him. He was focused when the door opened.

Turning, he saw Ichika, but he remembered she wasn’t herself at the moment.

“Inspector, don’t you know it’s rude to look through a woman’s things?” Annamarie said coyly. Zenigata frowned, and said nothing.

“You seem troubled, please, come sit,” she motioned for him to sit on the large, extravagant bed next to her. He hesitated for a moment, then cautiously sat beside her.

“It’s so good to be back. I died very young. But now, I’m here and I’m going to find the answers I’ve been searching for,” Annamarie said, “Even if this body is a little older than what I’m used to, she’s taken miraculous care of it, and I want to know how.”

“Why am I not with the others?” Zenigata asked coldly. This wasn’t his friend, he wasn’t going to act like she was.

She laughed, “Because it’s been so long since I’ve been around such attractive company. Perhaps you could join me, and we could both find what we need to stay this way forever.”

Zenigata frowned, “I’m sorry ma’am, but I’m a man of the law, and-,” he stuttered to a stop when she tilted his face toward her.

It was hard, resisting the face of the woman he cared about staring at him softly. But not impossible, as the striking blue eyes kept him grounded, reminding him that this wasn’t her, it was someone else.

“There’s nothing I could do to make you join me?”

“You could take the necklace off.”

She laughed and did so, and Zenigata noticed it did nothing.

“There’s only one way to get rid of me, Inspector,” she said calmly, “You’d have to destroy this little gem,” Annamarie held up the necklace, showing the center jewel.

He watched her cautiously as she placed it back around her neck, “It’s lovely, though, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Very.”

Annamarie fluttered her eyes at him, “You seem so tense, Inspector.”

“You’re possessing someone I care about. Of course I’m tense.”

“I could help.”

“With all due respect, ma’am, I don’t think you could,” Zenigata said, slapping a handcuff on her wrist and attaching it to the bed.

“Wh-hey! Inspector! You get back here!”

“I’ll be back for Ichika,” he said sternly, running out of the room to find Lupin. He tried to ignore her angry screams as he shut the door behind him.

— —

“Lupin I’m so sorry,” Fujiko said forlornly, “This is all my fault.”

“Now now Fujicakes, you didn’t realize it was gonna get this bad,” Lupin attempted to console her, but she just cried into her hands.

There was a crash, and a few people yelling. Lupin looked up in surprise to see Zenigata swinging a key ring on his finger, grinning.

“Pops! How’d you find us?”

“Wasn’t that hard. Now c’mon, we’ve still gotta go get Ichika.”

He unlocked the door, letting the group out. They ran back into the main room, this time prepared for the fight they were about to deal with.

Instead, oddly enough, they were greeted by eerie silence, except for “Ichika”, holding the now shattered handcuffs in her hand.

“Inspector, if you wanted to play kinky, you could’ve just asked,” she teased, but there was no humor in her tone. Zenigata froze, knowing he would probably need to fight her, but didn’t want to hurt his friend.

“Pops,” Lupin said quietly, “If you take that thing off her, it should break the curse. If you really love Ichika.”

“What does that have to do with-?”

“Just do it! Trust me!” Lupin shouted, shoving Zenigata toward “Ichika,” who was glaring at him coldly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made it intentionally confusing with the Ichika-Annamarie thing >:)


	8. Chapter 8

Zenigata was not usually the type to be scared.

But currently, the woman he was fairly certain he was in love with needed help, and he seemed to be the only one who could do it.

Running at the woman, Zenigata reached out to her neck, attempting to grab the necklace.

She dodged, a smile on her face as she easily grabbed his arm and threw him over her head.

He lay on the ground for a moment, stunned. He was pretty sure he taught Ichika how to do that.

“Wow! This body is in amazing shape,” Annamarie laughed, “You just flew right over my head!!”

He scrambled to get up, stopping when a heeled shoe stomped right near his face. He cautiously looked at the woman, who was no longer smiling.

She grabbed him and pulled him up, “It’s such a shame,” she said calmly, swinging him around and throwing him into the wall, “We would’ve looked amazing together.”

He gripped a pillar as he pulled himself up, an idea forming.

He was going to have to do something to distract her. He needed to get close without her throwing him like a rag doll.

“Alright. Alright. You win,” he said, holding his hands up. Lupin watched silently, knocking a cult member over the head with his gun.

“I have a soft spot for a woman that can throw me across the room like that. I’ll be willing to do anything if you’d stop it though.”

“Finally, it seems I knocked some sense into that thick skull of yours.”

Lupin wondered if she was really that gullible or if she had a plan. He hoped desperately it was the former.

Zenigata, with his hands still raised, took a step toward her, “I suppose if you find that trick for immortality you’d share it with me, right?”

She seemed to be buying it, “Absolutely.”

He took another step. Then another, and another, crossing the room to her.

“Can we catch Lupin?”

“Oh I know all about that inspector! I’d be willing to help you finally put an end to that cat and mouse chase!”

He was close enough now, he could reach out and grab her. He motioned like he was going to touch her hair, then moved his hand and quickly snatched the necklace.

“Wh-? INSPECTOR YOU TRICKED ME!”

“Yeah well I’m not as gullible as I seem so you should’ve thought about that first!” He took the gem out of the necklace and threw it as hard as he could on the ground, shattering it.

Annamarie let out a horrible wail, a horrible mixture of her own voice and Ichika’s, as she fell to the ground unconscious.

The cultists that were left scattered, Jigen got a couple of good shots in before they were all gone.

Zenigata gripped the necklace in his hands, before shoving it into his coat pocket. He ran over to Ichika and picked her up.

“She’s breathing. She’s-,” Zenigata was crying now. He was worried and relieved and angry all at once.

— —

Ichika woke up three days later with no memory of her possession.

She was alone, except for a very disheveled Zenigata, who was asleep in an awkward position on his chair. It took Ichika a moment to realize she was in a hospital.

She heard the door open, her fight or flight kicking in as she shut her eyes, feigning sleep. Fighting her beating heart to keep it steady so as to not give her away.

“She’s still out,” Lupin’s voice said softly, “Should we wake Pops?”

“No, he hasn’t slept in a few days,” Fujiko’s voice this time, “He needs to rest after having that meltdown over Ichika in a coma.”

The footstep came close and she heard Fujiko whisper, “I hope when you wake up we can actually get to know one another. Thank you for helping me.”

Lupin came in next, “I’m gonna nudge Zenigata awake so you two can have some time to talk. When you’re out of here come find me at this address,” she felt him slip a piece of paper into her hand.

To acknowledge that she heard him, she squeezed the paper just enough so only he saw.

The two left the room, Lupin nudging Zenigata “accidentally” to wake him.

Once the door shut, Ichika opened her eyes again. She took in the fact that it was dark now, the light had been turned off.

“Damn Lupin... waking me when i...,” she heard Zenigata mumble. A small smile formed on her face as she reached out and gently grabbed his hand.

He jumped, surprised at the contact. Instantly he was closer, a hand gently on her cheek.

“Hey,” he said, suddenly feeling awkward.

“Hey,” she replied, pressing her free hand to the one pressed to her cheek.

“Do you... remember anything?” He asked. Ichika shook her head.

“I remember them putting that necklace on me, then nothing till just now. It was like I was floating in a bunch of nothing.”

He nodded. Ichika reached up and brushed some tears away.

“You’ve been crying.”

“I was worried.”

“Thank you for caring about me,” her voice grew soft as she said that, as if suddenly shy.

“You can always count on me to keep you safe. It’s what I’m good at,” he said confidently, although his voice shook at the end.

She freed her hand that he had been holding, reaching up and holding his face in her hands.

“I appreciate that you are so dedicated to helping people. Now then, I’m assuming it’s business as usual when I get out of here.”

“Don’t go back to him.”

That surprised her, “What?”

“I... I don’t think you should be working with him. I mean, look what happened!” He gestured to her lying in the hospital bed.

“Oh come on I’ve been worse than this.”

“You’ve never been possessed before.”

That caught her off guard.

“Possessed?” She wasn’t sure he heard him right. Her body got cold when he nodded in affirmation.

“That necklace was actually cursed and the spirit of the the dead cult leader took over. I thought I... we thought we lost you for a bit.”

“Oh...,” this was news to her. Possession was not something you could just brush off.

“Now I have to talk to Lupin. To set the record straight,” she attempted to sit up but Zenigata’s large hand gently pushed her back.

“The doctors said you need to stay here overnight. Now that you’re awake, I mean. They wanna make sure you’re ok to go home.”

“I’m fine. I’ve never felt better, honestly.”

“Ichika you threw me across the room.”

“Holy shit did I really?”

He nodded, “It’s not a laughing matter. They need to make sure nothing weird happened to you. They thought maybe you had some kind of drugs in your system.”

“There’s no way. You saw me, right?”

He nodded again, “But a lot of people don’t believe in that kind of stuff. Hell, I didn’t really either until I saw you.”

She sighed. Zenigata stood and stretched.

“I’m gonna get the doctor and let them know you’re awake. The faster we get those tests done the sooner we can go home.”

He headed for the door, “And Ichika?”

“Yes?”

He looked like he wanted to say something profound, but he just said, “The commissioner wants you to move in with me so I can keep an eye on you.”

And with that he was gone. Off to the doctor while Ichika pouted in her bed.

**Author's Note:**

> Another fic rewrite because this one was going a weird direction and I wanted to steer it back on track!


End file.
